Iraqi Authorities to Kill 1 Million Dogs! Iraqi Vets, are there REALLY this many stray dogs in Baghdad???

Are there REALLY over million stray dogs in Baghdad, a city of 7 million people? Iraqi Vets, can you confirm this? Thanks

Baghdad to cull a million stray dogs as rogue canine population soars

More than a million stray dogs roaming Baghdad are facing destruction. The initiative has so far led to 42,000 strays being killed in only two months. Teams of riflemen and vets are trying to thin out a rogue canine population that has reached at least 1,250,000...‘We could consider this the biggest campaign of dog execution ever,’ said Baghdad chief veterinarian, Mohammed al-Hilly. Mr al-Hilly claimed the huge amounts of litter that began heaping up in the capital as violence paralysed public services had helped to trigger the problem. The cull involves 20 specialist teams each consisting of two shooters and two vets, often backed up by police patrols. The dogs are either shot or poisoned and their bodies are then taken to refuse dumps.

HT: Drudge Report